TULSA, Okla. — Union Public Schools is looking to fill 118 tiny chairs at their early childhood learning center. For the first time, they're offering the program to families with 3 year old's outside of the district.
Rosa Parks Early Childhood Education Center Principal Alycia Pennington said she's not sure why they're seeing such a gap in enrollment this year. The only other time they've had an issue filling their classrooms was after the pandemic.
She's hopeful that by giving more families the chance to take advantage of what they call 'the magic school,' they'll be full by no time.
"It's just a special place, I don't know how else to say it," said Pennington. "It just brings out the best in families and children and our teachers are just masters at what they do and are able to bring [magic] out in the families that come here."
The program is a year long, five day's a week education program, meant to serve as an additional year of pre-school. It's also free to the families who qualify.
Pennington explained the school follows the Emilia Reggio philosophy, letting the children take the lead on the pace and direction of the learning in their classroom.
She said the only other time they've had enrollment issues was after the pandemic. If they can't fill the 118 openings they have, their next year could look entirely different.
“I mean in the future we may have to give up classrooms or teachers but that’s not something we’ve ever had to do so we really want to fill those spots," she said.
The magic that fills this school, Pennington said, comes from teachers like Michelle Lambkins. She's taught at Rosa Parks for 11 years, even sending her son here to start his academic career.
The freedom to let the students lead and the teachers be the facilitator is something Lambkins said helps children like her son grown.
“You’ll see a lot of natural materials and loose parts, giving things a really open ended vibe and allowing the children to use their imagination," said Lambkins. “Some people don’t realize the correlation between some of the play that we do. Before you can write you have to play with playdoh, you have to use scissors. Even tracking for reading.. when you’re building and using your hands to do things, it’s setting the foundation for all of those skills.”
For parents interested in enrolling their students, they can visit Union Public Schools Enrollment Center at 6011 S 89th E. Ave., or apply online.
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